The referendum on the draft charter ran smoothly nationwide yesterday with scores of centenarians, the disabled and ethnic minorities streaming to polling stations to cast votes.
Soldiers from the army development unit show military ID cards before going in to vote at the 44th polling station in Kwang Thung Si Gun, Don Muang district of Bangkok, yesterday. Tanaphon Ongarttragoon
Even in the insurgency-plagued province of Narathiwat, where a series of bombings hit several districts from Saturday night to yesterday morning, voters remained undeterred.
In Sa Kaeo, a 104-year-old woman, Kai Montaraksa, accompanied by her 80-year-old daughter, Kean Mahapan, walked to a polling station in tambon Ta Kwean of Watthana Nakhon district in the morning. Ms Kean said her mother had intended to go to the polling station alone.
In Trang, Luaen Damwan, 106, the eldest resident of tambon Tha Ngiew of Huai Yot district, was driven from her house to vote by tambon officials. The municipality's mayor Thamsatat Kisun said he arranged transportation for Ms Luan when he learned she wanted to vote.
In Phetchabun, Kian Khamniam, 104, walked with a cane to a polling booth in Lom Kao district, drawing praise from officials. He has voted in every election he has been eligible to do so, officials said.
In Uttaradit, the eldest resident in the province, Soi Artpuang, 107, voted in tambon Namphi of Thong Saen Khan district. Despite being totally blind in one eye, she wanted to cast a vote just like she did when she was younger, Uttaradit governor Surasak Charoensirichote said.
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities chief Somchai Charoen-umnuaisuke said his agency, with 22 units nationwide, enabled access to polling stations.
In a polling station at the Pakkret Home for Children with Disabilities in Nonthaburi's Pak Kret district, a huge number of voters, including handicapped voters, turned up.
In Mae Hong Son, members of the Karen ethnic hill tribes said they went to vote as they had just received Thai nationality, according to the province's deputy governor, Suwapong Kittipattarapibul.
Maprang Chinwarakul, a 33-year-old Karen woman in Tambon Pha Bong of Muang district, said she was delighted to have the right as a Thai citizen to vote for the first time.
Moken sea gypsies from more than 200 households in Takua Pa district of Phangnga streamed out to vote amid rain.
In Narathiwat, multiple bomb blasts took place in nine districts on Saturday night, damaging 19 power poles.
Another blast involved a bomb-rigged motorcycle on Narathiwat-Tak Bai road in tambon Kalu Wonua of Muang district yesterday morning. No one was harmed.
Authorities said the bomb was the work of people wanting to cause violence during the referendum.
Still, many Narathiwat residents turned out to vote with long queues seen at polling stations.
A huge number of voters were also reported in Pattani and Yala with no violence reported in the two provinces.
In Chiang Mai, heavy rain did not deter people from casting votes. Voters with umbrellas and raincoats flocked to polling stations in the afternoon. High turnout was also reported among highlanders in the province despite heavy rain and power outages.
Meanwhile, a long queue was reported at a polling station in Khon Kaen University at 3pm.
Election Commission officials at the station convened and decided to allow the voters who registered their names before 4pm to cast their ballots although the official 4pm deadline had passed.
"The enthusiasm of Khon Kaen people to come out to vote exceeded the target," said Apinan Jan-upala, chief of the EC office in the province. "Voters turned up to cast ballots in every polling station throughout the day."
Officials help a disabled man drop his ballot into a box in Nonthaburi. The law requires voters to put the ballot into the box themselves. Wichan Charoenkiatpakul
Karen-ethnic voters display their ID cards at the polling station in Mae Hong Son. Some exercised their vote for the first time yesterday. Cheewin Sattha
An elderly man gets help as he walks to the ballot box after ticking his choice on the ballot sheet in Bung Kum district, Bangkok. Apichit Jinakul
Kian Khamniam, 104, takes out his ID card he as arrives to vote in Ban Hing Ngon, Phetchabun. Sunthorn Khongwarakom
Ethnic highlanders form a queue at a polling station shortly after it opened in Tak. Asawin Pinitwong
Voters check their names and their referendum registration numbers on the board outside the polling unit in Bang Kholaem district. Pattarachai Preechapanich
A woman casts her vote in Bung Kum district, Bangkok. Apichit Jinakul
A woman is directed by a polling official to drop a ballot into the box in Yala. Muhammad Ayub Pathan